Field of the Invention
The application relates to customized aortic stent devices and methods for the manufacture thereof. The customized aortic stent are patient-specific. In particular embodiments, they conform to at least part of the ascending aorta, aortic arch and/or thoracic aorta.
Description of the Related Technology
Endoprostheses are a commonly used way of dealing with diseases in interventional medicine and surgery. Mesh-based endoprostheses such as stents, stent grafts, heart valve frames, etc. are of particular importance in cardiovascular applications. Also other fields of medicine make use of such endoprostheses, e.g. pulmonary tract stents, oesophagus stents, etc.
Vascular endoprostheses such as stents are tubular structures used to prop open and restore blood flow in arteries. These devices are designed such that they are deployable by catheter or similar stent delivery system, as it is desirable for stent placement procedures to be minimally invasive. Some stents are self-expandable, whereas other stents are inflated via a balloon inside the stent in order to force the stent to open.
In case of aortic aneurysm or aortic dissection vascular endoprostheses are placed near or across the aneurysm or dissection in order to redirect or reduce the blood flow into the aneurysm or dissection.
Recently, customized vascular endoprostheses, based on digital images of the endoluminal shape of the artery or the blood flow channel, have been developed. Typical customized vascular endoprostheses have a braided or V-shaped metal wire pattern which is wrapped around a customized mandrel to personalize the endoprostheses.